


Birthday Wishes

by a1_kitkat



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Birthday Cake, High School, Jesse Beats Alex a lot, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Not Beta Read, Semi-Canon Compliant, mystery gift giver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: Alex never tells anyone when his birthday is but every year a mystery someone leaves him a birthday cupcake
Relationships: Alex Manes/Kyle Valenti
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58
Collections: Kyle & Alex





	Birthday Wishes

**Author's Note:**

> It's my birthday so everyone can have a gift in fic form... Sorry it's not very good, it was a rush job

Alex told himself he never cared for birthdays; his mother had made an effort every year but once she was gone, Jess didn’t continue the tradition so Alex had pushed all hope of another ‘happy birthday’ from his mind.

Because of his reluctance to celebrate his birthday, once he became friends with Liz and Maria, he was very careful to just never mention it. Each time one of them would ask, he’d pull the ‘oh it was last month’ excuse and the subject would be dropped. By the time he was fourteen, his birthday wish each year would simply be that his father wouldn’t beat him today; his wish never came true.

He was standing by his locker, waiting for Liz when he opened it and found a small box inside. Alex looked both ways along the hall and reached inside. He carefully opened the box to reveal a cupcake with the words ‘happy birthday’ scrawled upon the frosting. Alex’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at the cupcake.

“Alex?” Liz called from down the hall. He closed the box and shoved it into his bag before hurrying along to meet her.

Alex didn’t mention it; when he got home later that night, he sat on his bed and pulled the cupcake from his bag. It was squashed and half the icing was stuck to the lid of the box but his eyes teared up all the same. He almost didn’t want to eat it but he did, savouring every bite. Maybe he was being too harsh about birthdays.

*

His fifteenth birthday fell on a weekend and he planned to spend it in the tool shed, playing his guitar and hiding from his father. Jesse Manes found him and physically dragged him back into the house because his older brother Gregory was home for a visit and Jesse insisted on having a family dinner so he could sing Gregory’s praises while listing all the reasons Flint and Alex should, no would, follow in their footsteps.

Alex couldn’t think of anything worse than joining the Air Force, making his father proud, becoming a ‘real Manes Man’. All he wanted to do was play his guitar, make music people could connect with and feel. Not one person at the table acknowledged it was Alex’s birthday and when the meal was over, they all left him to clear the table, wash the dishes and ensure the kitchen was cleaned from top to bottom.

He was the first to retire to bed for the evening but was still awake by the time everyone had turned in. When he tried to fall asleep, a noise outside his window distracted him. Alex climbed out of bed crossed the room and opened the window where he found an identical box. He picked it up and opened it to reveal another cupcake. His heart skipped a beat and he smiled to himself. He didn’t know who the cupcake fairy was but next year he’d catch them in the act.

*

Alex had been looking forward to his birthday for the first time since his mother left. He was scheduled to work at the UFO Emporium all day then made plans to meet Liz and Maria for dinner. He still hadn’t told them it was his birthday, both women having seeming to have accepted he was never going to tell them so they’d stopped asking. Alex secretly appreciated it but was beginning to wonder if perhaps they had somehow figured it out and one or both of them were behind the mystery cupcakes.

He kept an eye out all day, watching people come and go but none acted overly suspicious. Kids from school often came here to mess with the exhibits or to fool around so they could brag about being ‘probed’ at the alien museum. He caught Kyle and Liz making out in the crop circle display and had to kick them out; he’d expected Kyle to put up a fight or make a snide remark but he left calmly with Liz.

Alex also bumped into Michael Guerin who was in the middle of a heated argument with Max Evans. He didn’t want to interrupt them either but their voices were getting very loud and he was worried one of them, likely Michael, would end up causing a scene. It wasn’t until he saw Michael’s anger rising to the point that he grabbed the front of Max’s jacket that Alex intervened. His classmates both looked at him, Michael took off in a huff with a notebook tucked under his arm. Max stammered an apology then quietly followed him.

He sighed and slowly made his way back to the front of house, taking the ‘back in five minutes’ sign down then he made to sit down but stopped when he saw a familiar box. He snatched it up and opened it to reveal his birthday cupcake. His heart raced as he looked around but there were no customers. Whoever had left this had been quick and stealthy; so another year passed without his knowing who’d left it for him. Maybe he’d have better luck next year.

*

His seventeenth birthday was spent in detention, the result of a continuation of his fight with Kyle at Prom. He’d been minding his own business, joking with Maria over a quiz in whatever trashy magazine she’d brought to school with her. Kyle overheard Alex jokingly admit to having a crush on Robert Pattinson and had immediately launched a spew of homophobic slurs. Not one to be pushed around, Alex defended himself as the gym teacher rounded the corner and separated them.

So for two hours after school he was forced to sit in detention, glaring at the back of Kyle’s head while listening to Michael Guerin muttering under his breath at the desk next to his. He tried to peek at what Michael was doing, scribbling in a notebook similar to the one he often had with him at the UFO Centre.

When the punishment was over and he was finally free to leave, he trudged to his locker and opened it to find his birthday cupcake waiting for him. Still fuming over his detention, he took the cake and slipped it into his bag before heading home.

His father was waiting for him, demanded to know where he’d been and Alex reluctantly admitted to being in detention. His reward for his honesty was a beating from his father, in the melee of the assault, Alex fell on his backpack. When he finally escaped and took shelter in the tool shed, he opened his bag and found the crushed cupcake. He never cried after a beating from his father but today he did. He shed a tear for his ruined cake and the one thing he’d had to look forward to on his birthday.

*

Alex’s eighteenth was a sombre affair with Rosa’s funeral being held that morning. He stood by Maria’s side, watching as Arturo sobbed while they both tried to comfort him. He hated that Liz wasn’t here, he hated that Rosa was gone and that she’d taken two other girls with her. The town was fractured, tensions were high and Alex had immediately sought comfort of his own in Michael’s arms.

Hidden away from the rest of the world, wrapped completely around each other in the back of Michael’s truck. They kissed until their lips were chaffed but still Alex wanted more. He wanted to forget everything, pretend everything was still all right in the World and Michael was the only constant in his life.

He feared Michael was pulling away from him not that he’d blame him after what his father had done to him that night he’d caught them together but Michael had assured him everything was fine. They made love in the back of the truck, twice, and fell asleep under the stars.

The following morning when Michael dropped Alex off at home, Jesse was waiting for him. Alex held his head high and walked inside to face his punishment but Jesse didn’t lay a hand on him. He simply shoved the enlistment forms into Alex’s hand. He waited, waited, waited for the inevitable beating but Jesse dismissed him. Alex retired to his room where he discovered his window was wide open and on his pillow was a box.

Alex picked it up and opened it, eyes filled with tears. Before he could remove it from the box, his door burst open and Jesse stormed in. He’d known his father wouldn’t be able to resist ‘teaching him a lesson’. Alex tried to brace for the inevitable but it didn’t help by the time Jesse was done, every inch of him hurt but the hardest part was watching Jesse scoop up his birthday cake and throw it out the window.

*

Alex didn’t have another birthday in Roswell for over ten years. His injury and rehab saw him returning to his childhood home just days after so after a full year of living in Roswell again he was content with not celebrating. Between the alien drama and his relationship drama and project shepherd drama, all he wanted was a quiet drink in a place where none of his friends would bother him.

He rocked up at Planet 7, the only queer bar in town, and took a seat at the bar. The bartender was pretty but definitely not his type. She wasn’t the ‘tell me your woes’ type and Alex appreciated that. She left him alone to enjoy drink in peace. It was a Tuesday night so the place wasn’t crowded or noisy but it wasn’t exactly dead either.

Alex was gazing into his third beer when he sensed someone approaching from behind. He closed his eyes and silently prayed they would move on, leave him alone. He was very surprised when a hand appeared and placed a single cupcake on the counter next to his drink. A single candle was sticking in the middle of it. He slowly turned around and found himself looking at Kyle Valenti.

“You are a hard man to find” Kyle said to him.

“Kyle…” Alex didn’t know what else to say.

“I have been to your place, the pony, Saturn’s Ring, the Crashdown, Max’s, the autoyard…”

“What…”

“This was my second last option unless I drove all the way to the cabin… Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t try the cabin first”

“But… Kyle…?”

Alex was stammering as Kyle reached into his pocket, pulled out a lighter and lit the candle on the cupcake.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to stealthily sneak a cupcake to someone every year?” Kyle continued. “Seriously man, it wasn’t easy”

“I… But… Why?”

“Why?”

Alex’s eyes darted from Kyle to the cupcake and candle then back again. He was struggling to wrap his head around it.

“Why would you do that?” Alex asked him.

“The first time it was because my dad asked me to” Kyle confessed as he nodded to the seat next to Alex, silently asking permission to join him. Alex nodded and Kyle sat down. “My mom would always mention it over breakfast, ‘oh it’s Alex’s birthday, make sure you to wish him well’ and yeah I was a jerk to you but my mom always went all out on my birthday and I felt kinda bad that your mom wasn’t around for you anymore… But I was embarrassed too because I didn’t want you to know it was me doing it”

“Scared I was gonna develop a crush on you or something?”

“Maybe”

“You know I used to call the mystery cake leaver ‘the cupcake fairy’?” Alex admitted.

“Really?”

“Well, I was a kid so…”

“Are you gonna make a wish and blow out the candle?” Kyle asked as he pushed the cupcake closer to Alex.

A small smile danced upon his lips as he struggled to comprehend this nice gesture Kyle had secretly done for years. He closed his eyes, as he realized he didn’t have to make his childhood wish anymore, his father wasn’t able to hurt him now. He thought quickly then blew the candle out. When he opened his eyes, Kyle was smiling at him.

“Happy birthday, Alex” he said. “Please don’t make me sing”

Alex laughed, his heart swelling.

“So, what did you wish for?” Kyle asked.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true”

“What if you tell me so I can find a way to make your wishes come true?”

Alex immediately began to blush.

“What?” Kyle asked with a smile of his own.

“I uh” Alex paused. “I wished the cupcake fairy would visit me every year from now on”

“See, what wasn’t so hard… Your wish, shall be _granted_ ” Kyle said, making an elaborate hand gesture while bowing.

“But instead of a cupcake, I uh… wished for a… a birthday kiss” he added very quietly.

Kyle stopped and looked at him.

“Okay” Kyle said.

“Okay?” Alex repeated.

With no other warning, Kyle leaned forward and kissed him. Alex was too surprised, too shocked to react. When Kyle pulled away, Alex was still gaping at him.

“So, uh” Kyle lowered his voice to a whisper. “You want a birthday fuck too?”

“Yeah, I do” Alex replied.

Kyle grabbed Alex’s hand while Alex grabbed the cupcake and the two of them hurried from the bar, giggling excitedly. They were barely out the door before they were kissing again with much more enthusiasm. For the first time ever, Alex’s birthday wish was going to come true.


End file.
